Exploring Tuscany in 2010

Exploring Tuscany in 2010

Exploring the region of modern day Tuscany means the traveler can experience a multitude of sites, scenes and pleasures. From rolling countryside, to beautiful mountains and shorelines; fine food and wine and amazing works of art and centres of culture, Tuscany has much to offer the visitor.

When you learn about the rich and deep history of Tuscany, these types of experiences and memories only become more enhanced. An ancient region with vestiges of that character still available to visit, Tuscany is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not just a place or time – Tuscany is its people, and the history of humankind in this region is rich.

Originally inhabited long before Christ, and in 350 BC the region was annexed by Rome. By time of the Middle Ages, Tuscan cities such as Pisa, Florence and Lucca had become powerful and rich trade centers with the primary products of textiles and agriculture, along with becoming a financial center with many banks and other trade organizations. When the Renaissance age came into being, Tuscany (Toscana, in Italian), many artists who are still respected to this day came into their own as well. Writers like Dante and Macchiavelli and artists and engineers like DaVinci and Michelangelo produced their finest works in this region. In fact, because of its literary influence from those times, even today the Italian that is spoken today reflects that Florencian influence from long ago.

After the Renaissance, Tuscan experienced somewhat of a decline, becoming revived in the 1700s, but not before Tuscans Galileo Galilei and Amerigo Vespucci made their impact on the culture and society of Italy, and ultimately the world.

Today, Tuscany is one of the worlds major cultural and arts centers with museums and galleries filled with amazing paintings, sculptures and grand frescoes by the masters. The historical peoples of Tuscany, and today's lively inhabitants make Tuscany a world class region to please all the senses.
Photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/rayced/2040526664/